


This Is Nothing Like The Disney Star Wars Trilogy

by ShowrunnerIHardlyKnowHer



Series: The Stars At Night, Are Big 'N Bright *clapclapclapclap* Deep In The Heart Of Fucking Outer Space [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alien Abduction, And a lot of it lads, Animal Instincts, Animal Traits, Dissection, Fear, Fearplay, Fluff, G/T, Giant Aliens, Giant/Tiny, Giants, Humans as Prey, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Macro/Micro, Mentions of Vore, Mild Gore, No Smut, Panic Attacks, Scenting, TINY - Freeform, Vivisection, humans as pets, non-sexual nudity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:40:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27394390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShowrunnerIHardlyKnowHer/pseuds/ShowrunnerIHardlyKnowHer
Summary: It's not that he didn't like space as a concept, but he can't say he ever had the desire to go out an explore it. Especially on an alien ship. Full of giant creatures. Including the one that was slightly (see: in-fucking-credibly) obsessed with him.Why did Jacob have a feeling this was going to be less like George Lucas's Return of the Jedi and more along the lines of Ridley Scott's Alien?
Series: The Stars At Night, Are Big 'N Bright *clapclapclapclap* Deep In The Heart Of Fucking Outer Space [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2001229
Comments: 43
Kudos: 123





	1. Jacob Talks About His Feelings In A Constructive Way That Won't Effect His Mental Health At All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **slams this first chapter down on the table** Hey remember how y'all said you wanted a sequel (:

“Hey, hey, hey, it’s alright, you’re  _ okay _ .”

His soft voice did little to help settle the earthling struggling in his hold. If anything, it felt like it only worsened its panic, encouraging it to go from kicking and pushing to full on biting and scratching. Edix probably would have laughed again at its completely ineffective tiny teeth and nails trying to break the skin on his fingers, but seeing the poor thing still utterly terrified whilst sobbing itself hoarse for the past  _ three hours _ was starting to take a toll on his own emotions. Ever since the little human woke up and realized its surroundings had changed dramatically, it had been overcome by such a terrible panic. Edix was really trying his best to calm the sweet thing down before it made itself sick.

Sure, he got it, the human was forever leaving its home planet for somewhere new; it was to be expected it would be upset to some degree, much like any other newly adopted species. But this fit of terror had yet to even wane in intensity. All things considered, it was kind of impressive that it had that much energy to burn compared to their first meeting. Edix brushed its flushed cheeks with his thumb in a vain attempt to wipe away some of the tears which were quickly replaced from its leaking eyes, earning him a sharp cry in protest while its arm that had flailed free shoved the offending digit away.

He sighed and readjusted his hold for the umpteenth time so it wouldn’t slip out of his hands. So much progress between them lost in a matter of minutes, after it had taken him nearly a week just to make the little thing trust him enough to be in his vicinity. That wasn’t to say it still didn’t try and escape his Earth base - again - on several occasions, but at least every time Edix snatched it back up it only fussed for a moment before settling on a precious little pout. He briefly thought about picking up another human to keep it amused when he was too busy to dote on it, only to change his mind after it shoved a glass flask off his work station during one of its tantrums.

No, one earthling was quite enough, thank you.

“Okay, okay,” Edix tried to soothe, lowering his hands as slowly as he could to avoid startling it, “You wanna get down? You wanna try being down again?”

As soon as his grip was loose enough, the little one squirmed its way out of his hands and dropped the remaining few inches down to the mattress. Holding his human always appeared to make it feel worse, but he knew that as soon as it was on a solid surface it would try to escape by any means necessary just as it had done the last couple times. It hardly made any sense to Edix why humans would risk injury and death in order to avoid something else that might cause injury and death but, hey, that was something for the fauna sector to figure out, he only had to worry about the flora.

The human, of course, was quick to put a fair amount of distance between them even if it wasn’t entirely out of Edix’s reach. At least this time it didn’t try to throw itself over the edge of the bed. Instead it crumpled in on itself at the farthest corner and tried to suck in some much needed air with little success. Poor thing must be one of the most anxious creatures in its entire solar system, possibly a trait amongst a majority of its species for some type of evolutionary purpose, but he seemed to recall the humans he encountered stupidly eager to attack unprovoked. Maybe it was because it was aware of how much smaller and defenseless it was compared to its kin; perhaps if it were in a pack it would be less agitated. In a way it was almost cute how its behavior mirrored a pup, darling and vulnerable just the same.

It… couldn’t  _ actually _ still be a pup, right? 

He could hear it whining out soft words that were butchered by its sobs though he still hadn’t the faintest idea what they were supposed to mean. In this context, Edix had a general idea that it was probably more begging and nervous rambling, but most of the sounds were muffled with its face hidden in its arms. With another sigh he reached over to settle fingers on its trembling back, trying to get the little one to associate touch with comfort once more but he only managed to startle the poor thing, its immediate reaction being to jerk away and tumble off the mattress. Or it would have, had Edix not caught the little one the second it slipped from under his hand, much as he had done the previous few times it had attempted to fling itself to injury on the floor.

Unsurprisingly, the earthling was not happy being back in his hold, even less so after he unintentionally scared the poor thing that was already at its wits end with terror. Alright, he could admit that one was his fault.

“I know,” he cooed apologetically, “I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, promise.”

He pulled the human back towards him and sat up a little straighter against the wall, opting to release the squirming creature on his lap as a sort of compromise. It was no longer being held but it also couldn’t run and injure itself. This clearly wasn’t good enough for the little one which was still trying to scramble away, only now Edix was able to block it with his hands to prevent it from slipping off. And so the game began anew, the human pushing and yelling with all its miniature might to make any progress on breaking free of its new confinement until its coordination started to sway. Its shoves grew weaker and its cries tapered off into whimpers when each attempt had zero effect on Edix. He stayed quiet, letting it work through its feelings until its body could no longer keep up with its overwhelmed mind and its shaky limbs gave out, leaving the poor thing a panting heap on top of his legs.

“Are you all done now?” Edix asked, keeping his voice soft to avoid upsetting it again. He carefully lifted it out of his lap and observed the exhausted little thing, its eyes downcast but no longer flooded with tears, its entire body hanging limp against his fingers. There was the odd stutter in its breathing now and again though thankfully it seemed to be able to inhale without choking, no doubt helping it calm down even further with each slow breath.

As gently as he could, Edix placed the earthling against his chest, feeling it tense just the slightest bit with a barely audible whine. He was quick to shush it before it broke out into another fit of tears and settled his hands over its curled up body, his thumb interchanging between stroking its hair or brushing away the remaining wetness on its cheeks. Its heavy eyes blinked more with each affectionate pet and only when his chest rumbled with a subdued purr did they finally slip closed for good, all of its nervous energy spent for the time being.

He knew from experience this peace wasn’t going to last. As soon as its little body recharged from a well-needed sleep, it would be back to full adrenaline levels, meaning another fun evening of Edix trying to settle the little one down before it managed to kill itself in its frenzy. He couldn’t help but mentally groan when he wondered just how long it would take to snap the sweet thing out of  _ this _ hysteria as he had done a week prior. It would probably take quite a while since it no longer had the familiarity of home. Or, if he was lucky, maybe it would be sooner now that it was getting used to him in general?

Unlikely, but Edix could always dream.

Despite the human being deadweight against him, he still lowered himself as painstakingly slowly as he could to actually lay down, desperately hoping none of his movements would disturb it enough to wake it. The last thing he wanted to deal with right now was an emotional  _ and  _ cranky little pet. He finally let out a sigh of relief now that it was officially down for the count, his stomach fluttering when the little thing nuzzled against him in an attempt to snuggle closer to its warm, vibrating bed. Yeah, the trouble was definitely worth it.

“Please be calm when you wake up in the morning…” 

...

The human was not calm when it woke up in the morning, nor the several mornings that followed.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if at least each day its emotional turmoil gradually lessened into something more manageable, showing some kind of sign it was understanding the reality of its unchangeable situation at the bare minimum. Not that he wanted the poor thing to sink into a deep enough depression it could be mistaken for docile, but if would just take a moment to breathe and realize Edix  _ wasn’t going to hurt it  _ things could be going a lot smoother for both of them. The little one was as stubborn as it was adorable, which was an exceptional amount, enough that at this point he started to question whether it was still fleeing because of prey instincts or if it was just trying to be a brat. 

Edix’s back was starting to cramp from the awkward angle he had positioned himself in on the floor, trying and failing again to stretch his arm long enough to snag the evasive little creature behind the data log computer. He wasn’t able to see into the small gap it had slipped in with his arm in the way and had to rely on touch alone to figure out where it scurried off to when he was a second too slow to grab  _ anything _ . Five minutes into this nonsense and his tail was already swishing low, huffing out a breath to steady himself and prevent it from turning into a growl. Scaring the human more was the last thing he needed.

Wires shifted against his fingertips as the little one stumbled over them to dodge another attempt to grab it and Edix prayed it wouldn’t tangle itself up and unplug any cables in its struggle. He was half tempted to get up and save his report before resuming another few unsuccessful tries, but he knew from experience that the moment he turned his attention away would be the moment it took off to a new hiding spot and he really wasn’t in the mood to fish it out of the vents. _ Again _ . Instead, he lunged blindly in the area he could have sworn it was just in and, predictably, missed to bump against more cables. Or he thought he did, until he heard a small yip escape the little thing and cringed upon realizing he had accidentally nicked the human with his claws.

Damn it. That was going to do  _ wonders _ for trying to earn its trust. 

Edix couldn’t detect any faint scents of blood, which he considered a good sign that he hadn’t gutted the poor sweetheart, but when he pulled his arm out entirely could see a pinprick of red on the tip of his ring finger. He almost wanted to blame the human for being so difficult though the feeling was quick to dissipate at the very notion that the little one had been  _ hurt _ by  _ him _ and now it probably won’t even let him try to heal it. Alright, he could do this, he was from a species of apex predators, it shouldn’t be this challenging to hunt down an adorable prey. Reaching his hand in again, Edix could hear by its shuffling in the same area towards the left that it must have cornered itself, the perfect chance for him to finally retrieve the troublesome little one if he could just reach a little more--

“Told you that you should have kept it in a cage.”

“Fuck off.”

Damn it, damn it,  _ damn it _ , he did not have the patience to deal with this asshole right now! What the hell was he doing over here in the flora sector anyways? Sure they both work in the biology branch, but Talan was assigned to fauna and should be worrying about his  _ own _ stupid humans instead of how Edix decided to take care of his. Not that he would know much about keeping any human healthy and well considering half the supposed “fun” was ripping into their soft bodies with various blades.

“I’m just saying,” he began, inviting himself in and making his way towards the computer station, leaning against the desk to watch Edix’s struggle, “none of my humans have escaped so far. I have plenty of empty containers now if you wanna borrow one. Maybe even throw in an exercise wheel for it since it likes running away from you so much.”

Edix growled in irritation, mindful to swallow most of it down lest he scare his little one, “I  _ appreciate _ the offer-”

“No, you don’t.”

“You’re right, I don’t. So, again, kindly get out of my lab.”

Talan rolled his eyes despite the smirk still adorning his smug, punchable face, his grey tail swishing playfully in contrast to Edix’s slowly flicking, “Yeah, really hard at work I see, super cool unfinished data log you got there.”

A snappy retort was on the tip of Edix’s tongue, something along the lines of the pot calling the kettle  _ annoying as all hell _ , but his fingers had finally found purchase around the skinny frame of the human and he wasn’t going to let Talan of all people distract him from his pet. He was quick to tighten his grip before the writhing creature had a chance to slip through, painfully aware of the shift in tone from the accompanying yelp compared to its normal cries, no doubt a result of his firm grip aggravating the new wound. As fast and steady as he could, Edix scooted his body back in order to finally sit up in a position that wasn’t detrimental to his posture, dragging the little one and its feeble struggles out into the open once more. Wrangling the human didn’t seem half this difficult back on its home world.

The poor thing was absolutely filthy, the thin layer of dust and dirt that had surely been collecting under the desk for years doing little to help its current state. Its miniature green outfit which had once been so cute was now stained with hard splotches of dried blood from its kin along with the other general grime that came from not being cleaned for over a week. That wasn’t to say Edix hadn’t  _ tried _ to remove its outerwear for something fresher and, by extent, wash away the various stains that still clung to its skin, but any and all attempts were met with what was single-handedly the  _ worst _ fits he had ever dealt with. If he were to be honest, it was too tempting to just rip the fabric off its body and dunk it in a decontamination sink, ignoring all its shrieks and flailing. He could never be that cruel to his sweet little pet, though. 

He just needed to be patient for a little bit longer until it finally started to calm down, just like before, and purposely upsetting it like that would do more harm than good.

Sarcastic applause interrupted his survey of the trembling human, Edix instead aiming a burning glare at the prick still leaning on his workspace.

“Wow, good job, you wasted half the sol on your knees, fishing out a pet that doesn’t even like you. Well done.” He deadpanned.

The new voice clearly startled the little one in his hold if the tiny jolt was anything to go by. The human was trying to push itself deeper into Edix’s palm, away from Talan. Edix cupped his hand over his chest and loosened his fingers to give the human a tad more room which allowed it to immediately hunker down behind the cover of his hand to stay out of view entirely, still pressing closer to his sternum as if just being in the other’s presence was unbearable. And fuck if that wasn’t relatable.

With a free hand, Edix pushed himself off the floor and purposely bumped his arm against Talan’s shoulder as a silent command to  _ get away from my shit _ . “It still likes me more than you, much like everyone else.”

Sitting down in his chair, he started to move his hand with the intention of setting the human on the desk and freeing both hands to work with, but tiny hands were quick to grip his shirt in obvious disagreement of his choice. Well, he certainly couldn’t put the little one down  _ now _ , especially when it buried its sweet face into his chest in an effort to hide from Talan’s view. Oh yeah, that asshole was still here, and now he was clutching his heart with dramatic distress. 

“Edix, you  _ wound _ me,” he sighed, his voice causing the little human to tremble even more now that it was closer.

“Go bleed out somewhere else then, I’m working.” 

“Are you this mean to your human? No wonder it doesn’t  _ like you _ .”

Edix pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off the budding migraine, taking a deep breath while being careful not to jostle his little pet too much. Yes, he knows the earthling is not very fond of him (yet) and he had the sneaking suspicion Talan was only aggravating him for a reaction that would scare the human. Besides, there was still  _ some _ progress between them in his opinion. Maybe it has refused to eat anything for the last three sols and runs off every chance it gets and has tried to throw itself off of high ledges and fusses every time he tries to get it to sleep and won’t let him clean it up and is generally upset whenever its awake.

But it picked him over Talan, so that’s a win if he’s ever seen one.

At last, Talan seemed to have gotten his fill of annoying the absolute fuck out of him and sauntered his way towards the door, tail still swishing as if he had caught the canary three times over. He took a step out before pausing to turn back to Edix who refused to look in his general direction at all.

“You really should keep it on a leash,” he said. “It’d be a real shame if it were to accidentally get mixed up with my samples.”

And finally,  _ finally _ , he was gone, the door sliding shut behind him, Edix’s headache lessening immediately now that he was distraction-free and could actually finish his reports. Well, perhaps he wasn’t entirely free from interruptions as he looked down at the little one who was hesitantly loosening its hold, brown eyes darting around for any sign of the stranger. Upon not seeing or hearing anything, and possibly taking a cue from Edix’s softer demeanor, it let go of his shirt entirely, allowing him to move his hand to hold the little thing up to his face, receiving a weak yelp when his other hand came up to brush some of the grime off its baby cheeks.

“I love you, but you’re not going to be happy when I finally stick you in a cup one of these days,” he mumbled mostly to himself. Not like the sweet thing could understand his gentle warning anyways.

He set the human on the desk and tried to put his focus back onto his work that  _ should _ have only taken him an hour to finish. Now he was two and a half hours behind schedule. From the corner of his eye Edix could see it repeatedly shifting its gaze from him to the keyboard that blinked back on under the sleek surface of the workspace. It was so cute when it wanted to be. Even now he couldn’t help a small smile any time he caught the little one watching him use basic technology in both curiosity and wonder. How far behind were its planet’s advancements if it was that impressed by a keyboard or window shades or a printer? It wasn’t even this enthused when Edix tried to show him the actual amazement that was  _ space _ . 

The sweet thing continued to watch his fingers tap against the keys, knees pulled to its chest and chin resting on top. Poor thing looked absolutely exhausted and it was no wonder why. For the past three sols it had refused to eat anything he tried to give it, either out of distrust or because its picky palate prevented it from trying foreign foods. Edix had tried everything; sweet things, salty things, meat, fruit, vegetation, confections, even the supplements that the fauna sector fed to the test humans! And every time it would clamp its mouth shut and push it away, struggling and whining whenever Edix held it to try and coax anything down its throat before ultimately giving up. He had noted it was becoming alarmingly lethargic, hardly doing anything more than sleeping longer and occasionally managing to slip away for a few moments, and even then when it was eventually caught it hardly put up a fight. Not because it was accepting its fate, but because it just didn’t have the energy to throw a fit.

Maybe he should ask someone in fauna about typical human diets, perhaps there was something unique he was missing. He was so lost in thought, absentmindedly filling in reports, that he almost missed the way the little one was starting to fidget again, looking at the open area around it and Edix’s face to see if it was being watched. Unfortunately for it, he was quick to catch the movement in his peripheral and huffed out a swear before blocking in its stumbling body with a loose grip in one hand. 

“No. I’m not in the mood to play that game again,” he warned, hoping his firm tone at least broke through the language barrier. “We can go take a nap when I’m done with this. Be good.”

Like always, it wriggled in his grasp, trying to shove his fingers open, only to be met with disappointment every time. Edix ignored it, which was rather easy with its feeble struggles, and returned his attention to completing the last data log with the use of only one hand. His progress was much slower, but at least it was uninterrupted. He hadn’t even noticed when the human had stopped squirming and leaned heavily against the digits it had fought moments prior. Time ticked along quietly until he could finally save and send his work off to the archiving department, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes to readjust after staring at a screen for so long.

“Alright, should we even  _ try _ to give you a bath or do you just want to lay down for a bit?”

He wasn’t expecting an actual answer, but he definitely wasn’t expecting the tiny  _ thump _ it made when he relented his hold on it. Quickly opening his eyes, he saw the little one crumpled on the desk, breath shallow and eyes closed which only served to accentuate the ever darkening rings around them. Edix scooped up the little one to examine it, looking to see if it had smacked its head on the desk but finding no injuries beyond the cut on its arm from where he’d scratched it (accidentally!) Rolling the poor thing onto its back, he instead poked and prodded it, feeling how pronounced its ribs had become which barely expanded with each inhale. He pinched its limbs to bend at the joint, rubbed at its cheeks and hair, even going so far as to swipe a single grooming up its chest, and still didn’t get any glimpse of a reaction. Even in its pitiful state, it  _ never _ let him groom it, not even when it was asleep.

His eyes widened at the realization that something was very, very wrong with his human, something he had zero knowledge in fixing. And from the look of things, it needed to be fixed post-haste before Talan got a fresh cadaver.

“ _ Shit _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALRIGHTY SO:
> 
> I had the idea for a sequel ever since I posted the last chapter of STMTALCTIS but honestly, considering it was my first ever fic and it ended up have two extra chapters tacked on, I was kind of burnt out. It wasn't until Kaliamissywissywoo gave me a swift kick in the ass recently did I finally start on it, and then restart it because I didn't like it, and then I think restarted it again. You know that dumb dragon fic I posted a bit ago? That was actually like the fifth rewrite of a Sanders Side idea I had and I just dusted it off LMAOOOO
> 
> Anyways, between work and school I've been chipping away at this with the intention of posting it all at once as one big intro chapter, but this shit was getting real loooooooong and I was barely at the halfway point. So I decided to break up what I had thus far into two parts, the second which will be posted once soon-ish?? Hopefully?? Kalia needs to bodyslam me into my google docs
> 
> Looooooong story short, yes, this is gonna be multichapter. Beyond the first and second chapters (which is supposed to be like a lil intro), the following chapters are more or less chronological snippets, I guess. Sometimes they'll focus on other characters' plots, sometimes they'll just be a dumb little moment, but they'll all go in order. I have a couple shots already preplanned but I'm thinking once I run out of those I'll leave it up to you guys to throw out suggestions/AUs/whatever at me. 
> 
> Enjoy, bros and hoes. Hit up my discord if you wanna lose a few braincells @Michael Cera's Stunt Double#3243


	2. Jacob Finally Gets Free Healthcare As An American

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If he thought being a pet was bad before, wait until Jacob has to take a visit to the veterinarian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY VALENTINES DAY. IT'S HERE. IT'S FINAL DONE. MONTHS OF BEING A WIP HAVE COME TO AN END.
> 
> I'm excited to finally get this chapter up because now that means I can start on the one-shot esque type chapters that bounce around between characters and timelines and I already have so many that I'm ready to get out of my system. Bonus! If y'all have any of your own ideas/AUs you'd like to see, drop em in the comments or my Tumblr showrunnerihardlyknowher.tumblr.com and if I like them I'll throw em in!! Super special thank you to hiddendreamer67 for giving this chapter a once over to make sure my sentences were coherent lmao
> 
> Also I have a huge ass mushy thank you note at the bottom in regards to my life these past few weeks so :3c

To say Jacob felt like death when he came to was the understatement of the century. Actually, death would have been a far more merciful alternative to his current physical state. His head was pounding like a jackhammer, sending sharp pains behind his eyes that would no doubt worsen whenever he’d finally muster the strength to open them. That was an agony he was going to put off as long as possible. Instead he tried to ease the steady throbbing in his skull by forcefully taking deep, even breaths. Even that was a struggle, constantly feeling like he was suffocating if he took too long to inhale. At least the rest of his body was used to being in a numb ache, save for the stinging cut on his arm from where the creature  _ clawed at him _ .

He had been wary of its claws the minute it took its gloves off, despite them being cut short, almost resembling human nails. In fact, the only main difference appeared to be that its nails, and presumably the nails of every other member of its species, naturally grew to a sharp point no matter how it was trimmed. Jacob never would have guessed he’d miss the times during his captivity when it wasn’t able to truly touch him, skin and body heat concealed under thick gloves. But now that it didn’t feel the need to wear its protective gear, Jacob was forced to make contact with warm flesh for what felt like twenty hours a day because the giant bastard just couldn’t keep its hands off him!

Although...sometimes he was reluctantly appreciative of that, namely when a new alien monster decided to show up unannounced. From his captor’s body language he could tell it was an unwelcome interaction which only served to put him more on edge, praying that he wasn’t going to be handed over to an even worse fate. He’d dig his own grave before admitting to just how desperately he clung to his captor when it started to move him away. No one would know, but no one would blame him right? It wasn’t as if he actually  _ liked _ the absolutely terrifying murderous extraterrestrial, but it was moderately more preferable to stay in its company rather than being carted off by a completely new, equally terrifying murderous monster that kept eyeing him up like he was the last cookie in the cookie jar.

But just to reiterate, Jacob absolutely fucking hated the giant fucker who trapped him on this fucking ship.

Something lightly patted against his cheek to which he responded with a groan, the light pressure making him lose focus on his breathing and fall victim to an especially stinging throb in his head. His reaction prompted the patting to repeat, a little more urgently, and with his last ounce of strength he forced his eyes to squint open, blurry vision taking a worrying amount of time to focus on the being hovering over him. Only when lines started to appear more refined did he notice it was a person. A person lacking the typical ears and tail and towering height of his captor’s species. A human.

A very small, very young human, with a frilly pink dress and matching bow clipped in her curls and  _ holy shit was this a human child? _

Jacob’s eyes widened despite his body’s protest at letting any more light into his vision. The sweet cherub face smiled and gasped, showing off a missing front tooth. She couldn’t have been older than six. Or maybe three. Nine? He had no idea how old kids were supposed to look. This little girl at least looked old enough to understand most of what was going on which was what puzzled him most. She looked well kept; natural hair smoothed into tight curls, pretty pink princess dress spotless and poofy, and she was just so blindingly, genuinely  _ happy _ . It was as if she wasn’t also trapped on some kind of intergalactic spacecraft that had kidnapped them to god knows where for fuck knows why. 

A million questions were quick to come to mind. How long had she been here? Why was she here at all? Who took her? Where was she from? Was she actually a human person? Where were her parents? What had the creatures done to her? How was she not on the verge of her tenth nervous breakdown like he was? None of these inquiries would be answered, however, seeing as his throat was far too dry for anything beyond rough wheezing. The child didn’t seem to mind his dazed silence at all, her delight stemming from the mere fact that he was conscious. She excitedly looked behind her, bouncing up and down on her knees and squealed.

“Kitty! He’s awake!”

_ Who the  _ **_fuck_ ** _ was kitty? _

Following the girl’s gaze, his heavy eyes risked narrowing into a weak glare at the two beings he had failed to notice until now. They both stood mere feet away from the surface he was on - a work desk, he presumed - and one was immediately recognizable as his tormentor. The creature’s arms were crossed over its chest as it conversed quietly with the other, eyes flicking over to Jacob at the child’s outburst and full of what almost looked like worry. Of course that bastard was worried; how would it be able to replace him now that they were so far from earth? There wasn’t any fun in playing with a broken toy.

Words could not describe the contempt that surged through him every time he woke up and spotted the creature, suddenly remembering that these past few weeks weren’t actually a realistic nightmare. Being absconded into the vast emptiness of space by a race of aliens which had murdered thousands, maybe millions, of innocent humans for still no discernable reason made him feel as if he was in a test run of the tenth circle of hell. To be honest, Jacob didn’t remember much about his first day in his new prison, his mind overcome with such awful fear that his brain felt it best to just black out the incident. Sadly, he wasn’t given such a luxury for the days to come, recalling every terrible detail despite the events starting to blur together as time stretched on. 

He remembered how it tried to shove its strange, probably fatal, food down his throat. He remembered how it tried to remove all of his clothes for whatever fucking reason he had no desire to know. He remembered all the times it would try to lick him, or grab him by the scruff of his jacket in its mouth, or press its lips against his back. And he remembered fighting all of these moments like a cornered feral animal. In the eyes of the alien, that’s probably what he was at any rate. The thought made Jacob sick to his empty stomach, which was doing the exact opposite of easing his pain. He kept thinking about how it was trying (and failing) to take care of him, like he was some helpless little creature, or a child, or, or, or--

A  _ pet _ .

No way. Absolutely fucking not. There was no way in hell he would ever submit to being this thing’s  _ pet _ . For some reason, that realization made his situation feel far more degrading. At least if he was just some sort of plaything then he could maybe look forward to the day he was  _ broken _ as a type of final release, but instead he was constantly being coddled and babied and snuggled despite the fact he was  _ nineteen years old, thank you _ . Oh, Christ, what if it thought he was actually an infant? Jacob’s thoughts of brewing hatred froze to a halt when he could see something massive reaching towards him with delicate fingers, unfamiliar ones. His glare was quick to blink into wide, pleading eyes as he looked at his captor, silently begging it not to let a stranger grab him and take him away, probably to a dissection room or a torture chamber. 

It only gave him a soft frown in response, its tail flicking back and forth. If Jacob had any strength left in his legs and voice he’d be fighting like a madman. Had it finally had enough of him running away? Why would it wait until he was too weak to run to get rid of him? It obviously wasn’t making any moves to come and save him as fingers slipped under his back while a thumb pressed against his chest with the faintest touch. Securely in place, he was lifted off the table in a slow, gentle motion that surprisingly didn’t upset his stomach any more than his anxiety already was.

When the hand stopped moving, he was at chest level with the creature that most certainly would have passed as a female on earth and made him quickly avert his gaze, thankful his already flushed face made it hard to see any embarrassment. His eyes trailed higher and oh, this must be  _ kitty _ . 

Its face was a very warm one, almost trustworthy. Almost. Its kind eyes turned apologetic and its other hand came up, holding some tool Jacob had never seen before which was rapidly coming closer. It must have been able to feel his heart beating a mile a minute beneath his heaving chest with its thumb draped across him, cooing quiet words of what he guessed were supposed to be reassurance. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away as best he could when something like a barcode scanner clicked and washed a green light over him, praying that this device wouldn’t cause him too awful a death.

\--

“99.8. No fever.” Ylva said, slipping the vitals reader back onto her belt. Now that her hand was free she brought it back towards the sick little darling to rub her knuckle against its cheek. “See, baby? I told you it wasn’t going to hurt.”

Edix drummed his fingers against his bicep, though Ylva couldn’t tell if it was a nervous tick or if it was to subconsciously keep himself from snatching the human back into his own hold. She was never one for teasing, but, oh, if it wasn’t just the  _ sweetest _ thing seeing someone like him so protective over something that was probably just a common flu. “That’s awful low, isn’t it?” 

“Not necessarily.” She set the human back down on her work table near her own little earthling, rubbing its back with her finger briefly before it scrambled away from her touch. Its movements were rather uncoordinated and trembling, a possible symptom of either fatigue or brain damage. Maybe it would be best to keep her theories to herself until she was able to run a full diagnosis. “Based on the average core temperature logged from our samples, humans run much cooler than Venandi. Probably because they’re so much smaller if I had to guess. Either way, it's within the normal threshold of its species which means you can  _ relax _ a little, Eddie.”

He huffed, but his fingers did eventually cease their tapping. “I’ll relax when it’s not at death’s door anymore.”

The younger human squeaked in rapid succession until Ylva diverted her attention back to it, grinning and booping her finger against its little button nose. Tiny arms did their best to wrap around the digit before it pulled away, the little one giggling before relenting its hold to bounce over to the other now firmly pressed against the back panel of the wall. It couldn’t seem to make up its mind who exactly it was supposed to keep its distrustful eyes on: its owner, the stranger, or the first human it's probably seen in weeks. Poor thing must want nothing more than to go back to the safety and privacy of Edix’s company (he  _ did _ say it was painfully shy after all), so Ylva promised to make her examination quick.

“Well, so far we have lethargy without a fever, tell me about what else has been going on.” She asked, grabbing her tablet off the desk and tapping along the slightly transparent screen.

“Uh, no appetite, I guess?” Edix glanced at the human who finally seemed to have settled on keeping its attention primarily on the pup, occasionally giving a single whisper in reply to whatever the other was babbling a mile a minute about. At least it was actually conversing in something that wasn’t whimpers and cries. Wasn’t enrichment supposed to be good for pets who lacked a similar species companion? Do humans have playdates? Ylva’s little one appeared as if it was plenty good enough at keeping his own engaged, even if it was pretty cute that it was still just as timid around its own kind as it was foreign invaders. “It sleeps a lot but not for very long.”

Ylva hummed, typing a few more keywords into her datalog. “What was the last thing it ate?”

When Edix had yet to give her an answer after a beat, she glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow only to see him deep in thought as if she had just asked him the philosophical question of a lifetime. The way his eyes darted as he tried to remember didn’t bode very well for her, no longer worried that the little one potentially ingested something it shouldn’t have, but that it hasn’t ingested anything at  _ all _ . 

“Eddie?”

“Hm?”

“When was the last  _ time _ it ate?”

The uncomfortable silence lingered once again and Ylva dropped her tablet down to her lap, looking at the man incredulously. “ _ Edix! _ ”

“Well, it’s not for lack of  _ trying _ , Ylva!” He said in a similarly chastising tone. His hands dragged down his tired face. “I  _ know  _ if it just ate it would feel better...kind of, but I can’t get it to eat a damn thing. I’m lucky I can even get it to drink water and it still fights me on that!” 

Ylva’s frown turned into one of pity for her friend. Clearly, these were not problems she had to deal with in regards to her own little human who was almost always overjoyed at being given a new treat to try, and even then there were only one or two food options the pup visibly disliked. It wasn’t completely out of the ordinary for some creatures to stop eating or drinking during captivity, usually stemming from distrust or depression, but why would Edix’s little one suffer from those? She’s seen how the botanist fawns over the human, how could it think for a second that it was in any danger with him? There must be another reason for its refusal to eat. Illness, maybe, since that was Edix’s first concern when he brought it to her, but, again, it didn’t have any symptoms that weren’t caused by malnutrition and/or dehydration in general. It was obviously nervous by nature, perhaps it just needed a demonstration from another human to understand the extent of its safety aboard the ship. 

She sighed. “Alright, well, there’s two ways we can go about this.” Setting the tablet back on the desk, she sat in her chair and reached down to press a button on the front of one of the built-in lower cabinets, the drawer sliding open with a soft click.

“An easy way and a hard way, I assume?” Knowing his pet, it was definitely going to be the hard way, the stubborn little thing that it was.

“More or less. Option one; we have it eat with _ Mibao _ and hopefully after seeing that the pup is perfectly fine after consuming our food it will be a little more open to trying new things.”

“... _ Mibao? _ Really?”

“What’s wrong with the name Mibao?”

“You named your human the old word for  _ my love _ , you’re such a sap.” He grinned. Ylva had always been the nurturing type, of course she would name her new baby pet something so sweet. It was a common nickname mothers often used for their own kids and he supposed this was probably the closest she’d ever get to her dream of motherhood at this rate.

Her white tail swished indignantly. “Yeah, well, you haven’t even named your’s yet, so I don’t want to hear it, flower boy.”

Edix snorted but let her be, probably wouldn’t be best to annoy the biologist that was currently trying to prevent his human from keeling over in the near future. Not that she would ever let spite prevent her from helping anyone who needed her help. Ylva was such a good friend, as evident by the fact she still made Edix hang out with her off duty after over ten rotations of knowing each other. 

After a brief search of rummaging around the various odds and ends of organic samples, she pulled out a small tin and nudged the drawer closed with the side of her leg. Upon opening the palm sized container, she plucked out a round, pale orange fruit between her fingers, shaking the snack in front of the humans to get their attention with a kind smile. “Mibao! Look what mommy has for you!”

The little one in question squealed in delight, eyes wide and twinkling, before skipping over to stand in front of Ylva for its treat. Typically, the fruit could be popped in one’s mouth where it would burst its overly sweet juices in a single bite, an easy snack to mindlessly eat. However, seeing as the size of the fruit in comparison with the pup who couldn’t even get its arms quite all the way around it, Edix was already internally cringing at the massive, sticky mess that was sure to coat everything as soon as tiny hands ripped into the flesh. Ylva didn’t seem too concerned about her pet and desk getting drenched, though, so he figured she’s probably done this before. It scampered back over to his human with the fruit in tow, eagerly cooing and squeaking and trying to push the treat into the other’s arms.

And, as predicted, it wanted absolutely nothing to do with the food.

It shook its head and continued to gently nudge the fruit back to the pup, or at least away from it in general, but Mibao was persistent. The human’s eyes were nervously looking around as if it were searching for a way out again, like it was actually feeling threatened by the younger one and its insistence on making it eat. It tried to squirm and cringe away, ultimately having already trapped itself against the back wall and refusing to threat display at the little one to make it stop. Stars above, was it actually being bullied by a  _ pup _ ? As much as Edix loved to tease it, this was actually pretty pathetic to watch it partially submit to such a younger member of its own species, unable to stand up for itself when it was obviously the superior one. Then again, in its weakened state, maybe strength wise they truly were on par with each other and it was better to concede and be left alone than waste the energy fighting. 

Mibao was starting to become agitated as well if its tone and pout were anything to go by, especially when the older human had yet to listen after it ate a few bites of the treat itself. The only reaction that received was a wince, his pet also not a huge fan of the way the juice squirted and spilled over into puddles. It almost looked nauseous, possibly from the overwhelmingly sweet scent of the fruit, but the way it started to sway had Edix reaching his hands out before it cracked its head on the surface of another desk. His movements only served to startle the human as usual and it backed away with a yelp.

“ _ Darn it _ . I was hoping that would have worked.” Ylva mumbled.

Edix folded his arms again. “I told you it wasn’t going to be easy.” Was anything _ ever _ easy when it came to taking care of his little one?

Ylva watched the two humans for a moment longer before standing. “Option two it is, then.”

Ah, the hard way. “And that is…?”

“Usually,” she began, walking over to a set of cabinets across from her desk, scanning the top shelf of vials, “I’d say we do an IV and maybe some mild pain killers with a known side effect of inducing appetite, but I don’t think we have any needles itty bitty enough for human scale yet. So…” She clicked her tongue in thought until the label she was looking for was spotted, grabbing the little vial of yellow liquid it was attached to as well as a single use oral syringe from a box on the door. She turned and held both of them up for Edix to see, not that he had the faintest idea what sort of medicinal cure that was supposed to be. “We’re going to have to brute force some nutrients into it.”

He frowned again, red ears twitching back just a bit. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, in fact, she was probably one of the best biologists in the fauna sector, but the idea of some unknown chemical being shot down his already anxious pet’s throat wasn’t the nicest of mental images. “What exactly are you going to be force feeding my human?” 

“Hydroxiam Fluridium. Contains 95% of the vitamins and minerals critical for any healthy earthling as far as our studies go.” Ylva unscrewed the cap and stuck the tip of the syringe into the small opening, turning the entire thing upside down and carefully pulling the plunger until she had three ticks of medicine measured. “It will at least get its vitals back up until it gets into the routine of eating real food.”

“So, this will help it get an appetite is what you’re saying?”

“Probably not, this stuff tastes  _ awful _ , but humans are pretty smart when they want to be, believe it or not. It will learn pretty quick what its alternative for fasting is and hopefully deter this behavior in the future.” With the vial recapped and placed back in its spot, she gestured with her hand. “Alright, give me the baby.”

Edix looked between her open palm and the human on the desk who was watching her just the same. It had frozen in place, unblinking doe eyes locked on the oral syringe until they snapped over to his. She was right, humans  _ were _ smart (sometimes), and it easily put two and two together when she motioned towards it and waved the syringe around while she spoke to him. Its eyes were starting to shine with a thin veil of tears and it gave just the tiniest shake of its head at Edix, another meek little plead to not be handed over to Ylva again. And fuck did that pull at his heartstrings. There was nothing to be scared of and he wished nothing more than the ability to explain that, or at the very least just an ounce of trust that he would never let anything happen to his little one. He walked closer to the desk and scooped his pet into his hands, much to the disapproval of the pup who was now left without a playmate or any attention, though it was quick to go back to its snack all the same.

The human was trembling in his hands and breathing quickly, not yet as roughly as it did when it fully slipped into a fit but definitely teetering on the edge. As soon as he pulled it into his chest it latched onto his shirt like before in some attempt to hide, or maybe even seek out comfort. Or maybe try to convince him that it could be a loving and sweet pet so long as he didn’t hand it over to the stranger who wanted to squirt alien medicine in its mouth. If Edix were a weaker man, he probably would have said “fuck it” and taken the little one back to bask in its affections and surely be able to keep it from starving to death this time. Just the way it looked up at him with those adorable brown eyes gave him second thoughts, but ultimately he knew what had to be done.

His ears and tail drooped sadly. “Sorry, kiddo.”

The moment he pulled the human away from himself it started to thrash and whine, its weak fight only becoming more desperate as soon as it saw Ylva reaching out for Edix to place the panicked earthling in her hand. It started squeaking again, little noises he hadn’t heard in a long time that had once seemed like its only vocabulary back on its home planet, babbling in a cracked voice and yelling out when Edix’s touch was no longer felt. Shit,  _ shit _ , now he felt even more awful, even if he understood this was for the best. It wasn’t like he was actually putting the little one down like it probably assumed, given the history between humans and the fauna sector in general, it was just for a dose of medicine for crying out loud. But it was the way it was crying and begging for  _ him _ that broke his heart, probably the one and only time it would ever want him.

Ylva looked just as disheartened by the little one’s reaction. It was difficult enough to keep it steady in her grip without hurting it, but every time she brought the tip of the syringe closer to its mouth its fighting would increase tenfold. The last thing she wanted to do was accidentally jam the tip into its tiny eye because of its thrashing. She bit her lip and finally put the syringe down out of sight, cupping the terrified human to her own chest with a sigh.

“Okay, tell you what, I’m...going to take it to the backroom for a minute. This is going to get messy.” She grimaced, trying to soothe the little one by rubbing the back of its head with her finger. “I just need to get you out of its line of sight and maybe that will settle it enough to get the medicine in. I can already tell it’s going to wear more of it than it actually swallows like Mibao over there.” The biologist didn’t even need to see the pup to know that its sticky hands had probably already matted its curls and stained the pretty white ruffles under its dress.

“What if I just held it? Or I was the one to give it the medicine?” Edix tried to suggest. 

She shook her head with a sigh. “No, we want it to associate you with nice foods and comfort. Teaching it that whatever you’re feeding it might be medicine is only going to hinder its trust. Besides, my printer is back there, I can wash the baby off and give it a new set of clothes afterwards. It might be able to relax more if it doesn’t feel as filthy.”

“...okay.” He agreed, watching his little one wriggle and cry as they disappeared behind the sliding door that closed off the decontamination section of Ylva’s office.

It was all he could do to keep himself from pouncing at the door when he heard it scream.

\--

Jacob had been having a lot of truly god awful days lately, but as of right now, he’d say this one was in his top three.

His mouth still ached when the creature jammed the end of its tool inside, the hard material cracking painfully against his teeth as it wedged between them in order to shoot a stream of bitter liquid down his throat. He coughed and gagged, desperately trying to spit whatever the fuck was in his mouth out before he swallowed anymore, most of it running down his chin and onto his already ruined uniform. Thankfully, once all the weird concoction was emptied from the container, it removed the device and allowed him to take some much needed air. The taste still lingered on his tongue and his throat burned from when it accidentally went down the wrong pipe, but his greatest concern was  _ what in the hell was that shit going to do to him!? _

Even now, hours later, it had yet to make any noticeable changes to his physical health which was already pretty shit to begin with, so he could only hope it was a silent killer. Of course, why would his torture end there? After the new alien had its fill of choking him with its foreign supplements, it started to pull at his clothing not unlike his original captor had tried several times before. God, he’d really fucked up, hadn’t he? Pissed it off one too many times by being difficult and uncooperative and it was tired of dealing with him, handing him off to be experimented on and eventually discarded. He had even tried to apologize, promised to be good and listen, cuddled up to it just how it liked in hopes of giving him another chance. Jacob took it all back; being a pet was far better than being poisoned and ripped apart and whatever other horrors may entail. And it looked so sympathetic to his cries that he really thought it had worked…!

And then he found himself completely stripped and rinsed in lukewarm water.

He couldn’t even fight the same way he had done in the past to keep his clothes on, the creature a trained expert in removing every article quickly and precisely, though it tore a few holes with its nails to slip him out of them even sooner. It was humiliating, to say the least, but worst of all was seeing his scraps of clothes discarded in a pile near what looked similar to a waste basket, probably meant to be tossed away when it eventually finished its tasks with him and could clean up this separate workstation. It was hard to explain why that display made him ache so badly inside, his tarnished and oversized uniform he was forced to wear every day to serve in a war he never agreed to ready to be thrown in the trash. In any other situation, he felt like he would have rejoiced to be rid of that horrid reminder. This time, however...that was his last piece of home he had. The dogtags with his address, the lucky bandana he kept shoved in his pocket, the jacket that was able to swallow up his skinny frame and give him a safe space to hide away in, all of those comforts ripped away without a second thought. After all, why would it feel the need to save his old clothes? They meant nothing to it. 

Moreover, it had a _ better _ gift for him after it was done waterboarding him, anyways. Fuck, Jacob wished he could have screamed, anything to give the tiniest of fights considering its hold on him was too professional for him to budge. His throat hurt too much in combination of the strange liquid and days of disuse to do anything more than wheeze and whimper, especially after he wasted his fried vocal chords screaming for the monster who gave him away. So much for thinking he was a treasured prize. Body scans and computer beepings and machines whirring all melded together until he was being ragdolled in its hold for a second time, however now he was being wiggled  _ into _ a uniform rather than out of one. It fit exactly to his body type, which was impressive enough since not many clothes back on earth could even do that comfortably, a little black and red bodysuit with built-in shoes that reminded him of the suits the creatures originally wore when they first invaded. Now, they had been swapped for long sleeved shirts and slacks, or dresses and lab coats in this instance.

The whole incident felt like he had been subjected to this hell for hours and yet in a blink of an eye he was bundled up in a thick hand towel and passed back into familiar hands that gladly smushed him against a firm chest. Any other time he would have pushed and squirmed or whined at the bare minimum to reiterate the fact that he wasn’t happy with the situation, but this time he simply didn’t have the energy. It wasn’t like he was even exhausted, though it probably could be argued his fighting spirit was tapped out for the time being, yet he couldn’t find it in him to do anything more than to lay limply and stare at nothing, his mind entirely devoid of thoughts. It was too dangerous to risk thinking of anything lest he be forced to relive the last half hour over and over again in his mind. Bitter, naked, doused, bundled, repeat. Jacob couldn’t even register the sensations of his captor’s voice echoing beneath him or the gait of its walk, only really noticing the change in surroundings when he was lifted away and set on a new, soft surface. The bed.

Oh. They were back in its personal quarters. The human child and doctor-type alien were nowhere to be seen, and for a moment neither was his kidnapper which strangely worried him the most. The silence was unnerving, threatening to leave him with his memories which were inching closer in his mind. His breathing picked up, but he couldn’t even open his mouth to suck in any much needed air, making him lightheaded from how rapidly he was inhaling and exhaling through his nose. Jacob’s hands trembled and he dug his fingers into his palms, just above the scars he had left in the flesh from doing the same thing weeks prior. Considering how he had chewed all his nails down to the quick, he wouldn’t have to worry about a similar injury beyond stiff knuckles.

His body was tense, aching muscles wound too tight. Why was he alone? What was it planning on doing to him? Was this a punishment? Was he still seen as a helpless pet? Was he going to die? What had he done in this life and the last to deserve such a cruel fate? Why couldn’t he just accept how things were instead of always making things worse for himself? Why, why, why, why,  _ why-! _

He flinched when the towel was gently pushed down past his upper arm in exchange for a new fabric to be draped over him. The action made him freeze again, only gaining the courage to see what the replacement was after nothing else had yet to happen. Hesitantly, he raised his hand to grab the material and tug it closer over him and into his view, instantly met with green and brown splotches in a camouflage pattern. His...his  _ jacket _ …? With more confidence, he pulled it further until he could feel the name badge, the surname  _ SANFORD  _ clear as day on the patch.

Jacob couldn’t help but blink dumbly as he tried to soak in the meaning of being given his military jacket back. Not only that, but based on the smell and texture, it had even been cleaned before being returned. Did...why would it go through the trouble of all that, assuming it was his captor who put in that effort anyways. It’s possible it could have been extremely obvious to anyone just how attached he was to the jacket, namely as a security blanket that he could fully conceal himself in when he was feeling overwhelmed with being touched or observed. Again, though, why would the creature want to give it back to him? Was this some kind of reward? Apology? He couldn’t see any reason why it would be either of those things since it was his refusal to listen that got him stuck in that shitty doctor’s appointment to begin with. Then again, really, what fucking right did it have to take away his things anyhow? Of course it should return his things, that was just basic decency, of which none of these giant fuckers seemed to have.

A soft squeak escaped him when he felt warm lips press into his hair, a purr rumbling in his ears that disappeared as quickly as it happened. The lights around him dimmed significantly, though they didn’t turn off entirely, just enough for him to still be able to make out the shapes of furniture and movement. Footsteps walked around him, quiet and slow, until they faded entirely behind the wisping sound of a door sliding closed. He had been left alone again, cocooned in makeshift blankets and a soft darkness.

Jacob fell into a dreamless sleep just as he’d done every night before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uh, my life kind of went to shit about a month ago due to a PTSD breakdown triggered by a very unfortunate event that's taken me a while to recover from. A lot of y'all who follow my main basically saw me start to spiral and reached out to me through Tumblr DMs and Discord, to which I just have to thank you all so, so, so freaking much for your kindness. You guys sent me stimming videos to distract me, taught me various coping mechs that helped you in similar situations, and even pointed me in the direction of survivor groups which have probably been the biggest godsend yet. This wasn't a type of trauma most, if any, of my friends in my social circle could really relate to and was very difficult for me to speak about, and as a result I lost a few of those friends, but I gained so many more amazing, considerate, trusting people in my life that I don't know how I would have healed without. So, again, thank you so very much for your kind words and resources and some of you just being able to relate to my pain. I've been much better now, much more open with my wife and currently searching for a new doctor and potentially new medication, and I hope one day I can really make it up to y'all. 
> 
> I don't know who might need to hear this, but you are loved. You are beautiful and you are worthy and you are so much more than your past. If you or someone close to you has ever been a victim of sexual assault or extreme grief, I highly encourage you to check out the links https://victimconnect.org/learn/types-of-crime/sexual-assault/ and https://victimconnect.org/learn/types-of-crime/homicide-and-grief/
> 
> Love you <3


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